News and Announcements

ByLaws Changes
As announced at the May meeting, a vote was held among those in attendance at the June meeting concerning two proposed changes to the club ByLaws. Both measures passed unamimously.

Staggering of Officer Terms - Starting this year, we will elect two officers per year instead of all four officers every other year. Term length will remain two years. It was stated that VP and Secretary will be elected on odd years, President and Treasurer on even years. After the vote, several members suggested that it might be wise to elect president and VP together as often the current VP wishes to run for president at the end of the term. If election of these two positions is staggered a VP would have to take a year off before running for president. We will consider this before putting the change into effect.

Membership Dues Grace Period - The grace period to pay dues after the new year has been reduced from three months to one month. Membership technically expires on December 31st. If you renew by January 31st, you will remain on the roster. (Renewal opens on October 1st. Any membership purchased in October through December is applied to the remainder of the current year and the full next year.)

Cider Press
Planning is underway for the club cider press event in late October or early November. We would like to get an idea of how much interest there is in getting fresh-pressed cider to ferment. The cost last time (2011) was about $4 per gallon. Please let us know if this is something you'd be interested in.

Quarterly Mini Competition
Congratulations to Mike Beattie for brewing a Kolsch that was chosen by the crowd on hand at the June meeting to be the best Category 6 beer. The next competition will be held at the September meeting and will be open to just about all moderate-strength German lagers and hybrid beers. We'll be releasing an official list of styles soon, but if it's a German lager or an altbier it will probably be on the list. Stronger lagers (Bock beers) and weizen-style ales will not be included in the competition.

Cooking with Hops CookbookThe club was approached by the author of an upcoming cooking with hops cookbook, Hedonistic Hops. It seems like a cool project, so we agreed to share the link to her kickstarter in exchange for a few copies of the book (if it gets funded) that we can give away to club members at a later date. Have a look and if it seems like a project you can get behind, go ahead and pledge.

Homebrew Happy Hour
If you share the dream of so many homebrewers of one day going pro with your hobby, getting your homebrew into the glasses of the general public is a great way to build a name for yourself and get some instant feedback on how your recipes might do in the market. To that end, we have another opportunity for you to pour! The organizers of the Beers of the Burgh festival are once again organizing the Homebrew Happy Hour at Bayardstown Social Club in Lawrenceville. This year it will be on Friday, July 31st from 6:00 - 10:00 PM. There will be food trucks and live music. Think of it as a homebrew mixer. Guests will be encouraged to bring their own homebrew in bottles or growlers to share. The homebrew clubs will act as a sort-of keystone of the event. If you are interested in manning the TRASH booth and pouring some of your homebrew to the attendees, please let us know by this Friday. We are looking to have at least two TRASH members sign up before we can commit to having a presence there.

Millvale Beer Fest
We have been approached by the organizers of the Millvale Beer Fest, being held this year on Saturday, August 8th, to pour our homebrew at the festival. If you're intersted in pouring your homebrew, please get in touch with us. We have not yet committed to club to be there. We'll do so if the interest is there. They are also looking for volunteers to pour commercial beer at the festival. If that interestes you, let us know and we can get you signed up.

TRASH XXV Competition
The 25th edition of the annual TRASH homebrew competition date is set - Saturday, October 10th. The location is nearly finalized and will be announced soon. The decision on whether we'll be using the 2008 BJCP guidelines or the new 2015 ones will be made before registration opens up, which will likely happen some time in August. We'd like to use the 2015 guidelines, but the competition organization software that we use is not yet updated to support them. If support for the new guidelines arrives before we open registration, we'll go with it. Get brewing! Any beer you brew following the 2008 guidelines will slot in to the 2015 guidelines nicely.

If you are coming to the meeting on June 13th at the Metas' house in Mt. Lebanon, please RSVP by this Friday, June 5th. We'd like to have an accurate head count since food will be provided. The meeting will be free for dues-paid members and $5 for guests. Get full details and RSVP here:

Club ByLaws Changes
There will be a vote among the active members in attendance at the June meeting on two changes to the club bylaws that were proposed at the May meeting at Grist House. If you want to have a say on these two changes, come to the June meeting:

Club Officer Terms: It is proposed to change the club officer terms such that they are staggered. Currently all four officers are elected every two years. Under the proposed change, the President and Treasurer will be elected on even years, and the Vice President and Secretary will be elected on even years. This will allow for a smoother transition between officers with no chance of an entire new board being elected in any one year.

Membership Grace Period: It is proposed that the grace period to renew one's club dues be moved from March 31st to January 31st of the year following the year for which dues were paid. The reason for the three month grace period was to allow members ample time to attend a meeting to renew dues. We now accept payments online (in addition to at meetings), so a one month grace period is sufficient and helps significantly with club bookkeeping.

Volunteers Needed
We are still looking for volunteers to pour their volunteer or homebrew at some upcoming events. Please volunteer if you're free and have the beer to donate. We committed the club to pour at these events based on significant feedback we received from the members wanting to pour their beer at festivals. Our attendance at future festivals/events will be based on how these ones go.

There is one space remaining for the Chili Cookoff at Nemacolin on June 13th. If you pour, you will receive a free-night's stay at a later date of your choosing. Please contact us by this Friday, June 5th if you want to volunteer. Details: http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/item/982975

We need one or two more club members to volunteer to man the TRASH boot at the AHA Rally at The Brew Gentlemen in Braddock on June 20th. You must be an AHA member (AHA rules). You'll role will be to interact with rally attendees who are interested in joining the club, give our business cards, stickers, coozies, etc, answer questions about the club, and sign up new members if anyone is interested in joining on the spot. Details: http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/item/970306

Finally, we're looking for three more folks to pour their homebrew at the Sharp Edge Great Eurpoean Beer Fest on June 27th. The TRASH table at the Sunday session is filled. If you pour at this festival, you will receive a ticket to attend another session, or you can use it to have a friend attend the session you're pouring at. The Sharp Edge wants our list of brewers and beers ASAP, so please RSVP by this Wednesday, June 3rd if you want to pour at this festival. Full details: http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/item/982978

TRASH has once again been invited to pour at the Beer and Gear festival in Ohiopyle State Park on Saturday, June 20th. If you're a dues-paid member and you'd like to pour your homebrew at the TRASH booth, get in touch with us at officers@trashhomebrewers.org. There are six pouring slots available. You must bring two kegs of homebrew. The festival is from 3:30 - 7:30 on Saturday, but the TRASH folks typically make a weekend of it, tent camping with the pro-brewers on (Friday and) Saturday night. White water rafting is available on Sunday if that suits your fancy.

Meeting this SundayDon't forget we're meeting at Grist House this Sunday at 12:30. Please get there on time, because we're starting the meeting right at 12:30 so we can wrap up before Grist House opens to the public at 2:00. Come hear competition ringer and club VP Andy Weigel talk about brewing for competitions. Bring homebrew to share. As always, please show your support of these great places that host us by having a pint or two from the bar. And come hungry & bring cash; Brassero Grill will be on site starting around 1:00.

Nemacolin Five-Alarm Mountain Madness Chili CookoffSaturday, June 13th, 2015 11:00 AM - 5:00 PMhttp://www.nemacolin.com/chili-cookoffWe need just one more homebrewer with two full kegs each to round our our booth. If you participate, in addition to getting to experience the chili festival you get a complimentary night's stay at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort at a later date of your choosing. If you're interested, email us!

Sharp Edge Great European Beer FestivalSaturday, June 27th and Sunday, June 28th, 2015http://sharpedgebeer.com/beer-festival- There are three sessions: Saturday 3-6pm, Saturday 7-10pm, Sunday 2-5pm. We need two brewers with two full kegs each for each session, for a total of six brewers.- Want to participate but don't have beer available? Sharp Edge is also looking for 6-8 volunteers per session to pour commercial beer at the event. They'd love to have TRASH members volunteer for this because of our knowledge and love for beer.- If you pour beer at a session (your homebrew or commercial beer at one of the other tables), you will receive a ticket to attend one of the other session as a guest. (Due to demand, the free ticket cannot be used for the Saturday 3-6 session. It must be used for either the Saturday 7-10 or the Sunday 2-5 session.)
- If you're interested, email us. Let us know which session you want to pour at, and if you want to pour your own homebrew or if you want to volunteer to pour commercial beer. Also let us know which session you want your free ticket for (cannot be session 1).

South Hills Brewing and Country Wines Discount
Don't forget to stop by South Hills Brewing Supply or Country Wines to claim your TRASH member discount card. 10% off in-store purchases for dues-paid TRASH members. Full details here:http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/emails/535957

We have a couple more opportunities for you to pour your beer at public festivals. If you are a 2015 dues-paid member and are interested in either of these, please get in touch with us straight away at officers@trashhomebrewers.org to sign up.

Nemacolin Five-Alarm Mountain Madness Chili Cookoff
Saturday, June 13th, 2015 11:00 AM - 5:00 PMhttp://www.nemacolin.com/chili-cookoff
We need four homebrewers with two full kegs each to participate. If you participate, in addition to getting to experience the chili festival you get a complimentary night's stay at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort at a later date of your choosing.

Sharp Edge Great European Beer Festival
Saturday, June 27th and Sunday, June 28th, 2015http://sharpedgebeer.com/beer-festival
- There are three sessions: Saturday 3-6pm, Saturday 7-10pm, Sunday 2-5pm. We need two brewers with two full kegs each for each session, for a total of six brewers.- Want to participate but don't have beer available? Sharp Edge is also looking for 6-8 volunteers to pour commercial beer at the event. They'd love to have TRASH members volunteer for this because of our knowledge and love for beer.- If you pour beer at a session (your homebrew or commercial beer at one of the other tables), you will receive a ticket to attend one of the other session as a guest. (Due to demand, the free ticket cannot be used for the Saturday 3-6 session. It must be used for either the Saturday 7-10 or the Sunday 2-5 session.)

Note the meeting starts at 12:30 PM sharp so we can be done with our business before they open to the public at 2:00. Come learn about brewing beer for competitions - a presentation by club VP Andy Weigel.
If you plan to come, please RSVP to let us know:http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/item/955193

South Hills Brewing and Country Wines Discount
Don't forget to stop by South Hills Brewing Supply or Country Wines to claim your TRASH member discount card. 10% off in-store purchases for dues-paid TRASH members. Full details here:http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/emails/535957

The American Homebrewers Association is proud to partner with us for this weekend’s AHA Big Brew with TRASH & TRUB at MoreBeer\'s East Coast Distribution Center Big Brew Event. As part of the celebration, the AHA is offering a free copy of Brewing Better Beer: Master Lessons for Advanced Homebrewers by Gordon Strong to anyone joining the AHA through our Big Brew event. Follow this link to reveal the promo code, and join online at homebrewersassociation.org.

So if you're not an AHA member and you like getting good books for free, this is a good time to join!

Hey Brewers, here's a roundup of TRASH related news and info for you. In this email:

Big Brew this Saturday, 15% MoreBeer discount for participants

10% Discount Card for TRASH members at South Hills Brewing Supply and Country Wines

June Meeting Date changed

AHA Rally at The Brew Gentlemen

TRASH members in the NHC Finals

Upcoming Meetings

AHA Big Brew with TRASH & TRUB

There's still time for you to sign up to participate in the Big Brew this Saturday at MoreBeer in Ambridge. If you sign up, we'll send you a 15% off discount code for you to use on your ingredients (and anything else you want to buy) from MoreBeer. Act Quick, the discount code expires on Friday, and you'll need to get your order in by 5:00 today to ensure it gets shipped out tomorrow and to your door by Friday. Full details & registration:

Details:
To receive a discount card, simply visit South Hills Brewing Supply or Country Wines and ask for one. Provide your name and they will verify you are a current TRASH member and your dues have been paid for 2015 via a roster we have already provided them. Once verified, you will be given a discount card with an activation sticker.

From then on, present the card at time of purchase to get 10% off just about anything in the store. They do reserve the right to make exclusions in some cases, but they said they don't foresee a lot of that. For instance, it is a good idea to ask about very large and/ or bulk purchases before attempting to receive a discount. The discount is good for in-store purchases only. For on-line purchases they already have the reward points system which essentially works as a discount.

The cards will be re-issued each year, when dues reset.

This is a great opportunity for both South Hills Brewing Supply and TRASH - we get a discount and they get more business from us. They've been good to us over the years and this only furthers that. Please thank them next time you're in and show them some support.

June TRASH Meeting Date Change

Please note that our June Meeting has been moved from June 20th to June 13th at 4:00 PM. We did this because the American Homebrewers Association and The Brew Gentlemen organized an AHA Rally on June 20th. We don't want to make you choose between the TRASH meeting and the Rally, so we moved the meeting. Hey, we probably want to hit up both events ourselves. Meeting details:

There will be food available to purchase. Eliza's Oven will be on site. They typically offer things like pasties (hand pies), pot pites, barleywine pretzels, that sort of thing when they set up shop at EEBC. Bring some cash and come hungry!

A reporter from North Hills Monthly Magazine will by stopping by to talk to some homebrewers about the hobby and the club. She's interested in speaking with all members and would like to speak with at least one of the original/founding members. If you're interested in being interviewed for the magazine, don't be shy!

Bring homebrew! You can (and should) purchase some GOOD BEER (tm) from EEBC, but this is a homebrew club meeting and everyone wants to try your brew. Growlers, bottles, kegs, whatever you have.

Volunteers Needed!
We still need some folks to pour beer at a couple of upcoming events.

PghTee - We need 2-3 more people to get involved in order for us to participate. The event is on Thursday, April 23rd from 6:00 - 9:00 in the South Side. If you have a keg or two of beer to spare, and are free that evening, please get in touch with us at officers@trashhomebrewers.org. This event is always a good time.

Beers of the Burgh - We have one more spot remaining for someone to pour their beer at this awesome brewfest on Saturday, May 16th from 4:00 to 8:00 PM in Lawrenceville. I (Jack) really wanted to do this one but another commitment is keeping me away. My loss is your gain. If you have two kegs of homebrew (at least 2/3 full) to share, jump on this. You'll have a blast. Contact us at officers@trashhomebrewers.org if you want the last spot.

Homebrewers! There's lots of new info on the TRASH web site, and we have a couple opportunities to server your beer publicly. We need you to make these events a success!

In this email:

New content on web site - By-Laws, Meeting Minutes, Survey Results

Volunteers Needed to serve homebrew at PghTee (4/23/15) and Beers of the Burgh (5/16/15)

Upcoming meetings and events

Membership Dues

TRASH merchandise

New Web Site Content
We've been saying at the past few meetings that we'd be adding the following items to the trashhomebrewers.org web site. It is finally there for your perusal. These pages are all available from the green tab/button bar at the top of the web site.

By-Laws

http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/pages/by-laws
This page contains the club's by-laws, adopted in 1993 and amended in 2000.
We will be proposing some changes to the by-laws to be voted on by the membership over the coming months.This link is only viewable by members who have paid their 2015 dues.

Meeting Minutes

http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/pages/minutes
This page contains links to the Secretary's minutes taken during the general meetings as well as the President's Agenda used for each meeting's announcements.This link is only viewable by members who have paid their 2015 dues.

Survey Results

http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/pages/survey-results
Thank you to everyone that took the survey we sent out in January. We have (finally) posted the results to the web site. The data we gathered is being used as we plan upcoming meetings and events.
This link is visible by anyone with an account on the TRASH web site (everyone receiving this email).

Serving Opportunities - Volunteers Needed
We have a couple of opportunites for our members to serve their beer to the public in the near future. For it to happen, though, we need you to volunteer to attend and server your beer. By serving, you get "free" admission to the events. With four TRASH brewers at our table, this allows for two brewers at any given time to check out the event and sample beer & food from the other vendors, leaving two TRASH brewers to cover the table. Serving your beer at an event is a great time. Yes, you have to sacrifice a keg or two of beer, but in return you get satisfaction from having many people drink the beer you brewed.

Feedback from our members indicates that many are interested in serving their beer with TRASH at public events. Here are two such opportunites. Please sign up to pour! You can sign up by emailing us at officers@trashhomebrewers.org.

To be eligible to pour for TRASH at one of these events, you simple need to be a dues-paid member for 2015. When time comes to organize our booth at the Steel City Big Pour (always a popular event within TRASH), priority will be given to those members who volunteered to pour at other events throughout the year.

http://beersoftheburgh.com/
Beers of the Burgh, a very popular and successful beer festival featuring just about all of the breweries in Western Pennsylvania, has invited us to participate as part of the Homebrew Headquarters section comprised of TRASH, TRUB (Three Rivers Underground Brewers), and BASH (Butler Area Society of Homebrewers). The event is on Saturday, May 16th at 4:00 PM. We have three spots remaining at our table. We would like each brewer to bring two kegs, at least 2/3 full.

Based on the feedback from members suggesting there is significant interest in participating in these kinds of events, we hope to make this work. If these two events are a success we will sign on to participate in more local events & festivals. We need you to help make it work!

Club Awareness Committee

Along those lines, we are looking for volunteers to join the first of our forthcoming committes - the Club Awareness Committee. This committee will be responsible for organizing public serving events, growing membership by discussing the merits of a homebrew club to non-affiliated homebrewers, that sort of thing. If you would like to take an active role in the club, please contact us about joining this committee.

Upcoming Meetings and Events
Saturday, April 11th, 2:00 PM - East End Brewing Companyhttp://www.trashhomebrewers.org/item/873099
Come hang out at EEBC, share your homebrew, learn all about the new barrel aging program - sours and whiskey barrel stuff. We're working on lining up food options for this meeting. We'll send out the food details once confirmed.

Saturday, May 2nd, 9:00 AM - AHA Big Brew with TRASH & TRUB at MoreBeerhttp://www.trashhomebrewers.org/item/957752
Bring your equipment out to MoreBeer's East Cost Distribution Center for a fun-filled day of brewing with a bunch of your peers. Full details are still being worked out, but the date is set. Get it on your calendar, and be sure to register at the link above! Registration is required to attend.

Membership Dues
Thank you again to everyone that signed up or renewed their dues for 2015. We couldn't keep the club running without it. If you're new to the club and would like to join, or if you need to renew your membership from 2014 you can do so in person at a meeting, or you can do it online here:http://www.trashhomebrewers.org/public/pay/subscription/

T-shirts & Pint Glasses
If you haven't yet picked up a TRASH t-shirt, bring some cash to a meeting and snag one. The new one's look great in both gray and black, and we have a few of the old ones with the slogan on the back remaining. $15 M-XL, $18 XXL-XXXL, $5 pint glasses Purchases help fund the club's events and operating expenses.

Come on out, check out the beautiful new brewery, and taste some of Sean's ESB from his open ferementation experiment while he discusses what he learned. Please RSVP on the web site if you're going to attend.

Bulk Grain SaleRemember that A&M Wine & Beer Supplies is organizing a sale on bulk grain, hops, and chemicals to coincide with our March meeting. Details are available at this link. Orders must be placed with A&M no later than February 28th - that's NEXT Saturday. Additionally, we have been notified that A&M can fill your CO2 tanks on-site. They normally charge $15 to fill a 5lb tank, but will do it for $10 the day of the meeting. If you're interested, please contact A&M before the meeting so they can plan to have enough bulk CO2 on hand to fill your tank.

New T-Shirts are in!
We were running low on tshirts, so we put in another order. The new shirts are in and they look great. They have the same logo on the front as the old ones. The slogan on the back has been replaced with the club's web address. And this time around we ordered half of them in gray - they look great in gray! We have sizes M-3XL. Price is $15 for M-XL, $17 for XXL & XXXL. You can hardly buy a blank tshirt for that price. The club only makes a about a finsky on each shirt, but the money really helps us to keep the lights on. Please bring some cash for a fancy new shirt or two. We also have TRASH-logo pint glasses for $5.

Membership DuesJust a reminder that 2015 dues came due with the new year. Thank you very much to those that have already paid dues for 2015. If you haven't yet renewed your dues, please do so soon. After March 31st, club membership will lapse for anyone who hasn't yet renewed. In addition to helping to keep the club running by paying for operating expenses such as homebrew club insurance through the AHA, web site hosting, and mini-competition prizes, current benefits of being a dues-paid member include ability to participate in the quarterly mini competitions, ability to pour at public events such as the Big Pour and Beers of the Burgh, participate in the AHA Big Brew with our club, ability to participate in the fall cider press (we're bringing it back this year), and other benefits that will be defined and announced in due time. Dues paid any time in 2015 will provide you with membership privileges through December 31st, 2015.The easiest way to pay dues is on our web site:

If you'd prefer to pay in person you can do so by cash or check at a club meeting.

Survey
Thank you to everyone that took our online survey. The surve is now closed and the results will be published soon. We received a lot of good feedback that we will use to help determine the direction the club takes going forward.

Online Beer Scores dot comDo you have beer that you want BCJP-style feedback on? Head over to onlinebeerscores.com and click "Add A Beer," fill in the details about your beer, slap the entry number on the bottle, then bring a bottle or two of it to the meeting. Someone will take the beer home and judge it (using the "Judge A Beer" button on the web site). Nobody knows whose beer it is until after judging it, so the feedback is honest. This web site is very useful and many of use have been using it for a couple of years now to give and get feedbak on our beers. It was developed by our own vice president, Andy Weigel. Let's put it to work.

Upcoming MeetingsIn addition to the meeting this Sunday, we have the following monthly meetings scheduled: